Methods for unlicensed resource selection

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses are described herein for accessing an unlicensed spectrum using portions of a carrier&#39;s bandwidth (BW). For example, a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) may access a serving cell through an initial bandwidth part (BWP). The WTRU may be configured with a plurality of BWPs within an unlicensed frequency spectrum. The WTRU may then determine any of at least one monitoring period and at least one offset per each BWP. The WTRU may then monitor the BWPs based on any of the at least one monitoring period and the at least one offset. The WTRU may receive at least one signal from the serving cell. The signal may be at least one of a downlink control information (DCI), a synchronization signal block (SSB), a reference signal, or a preamble.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 16/969,428,filed Aug. 12, 2020, which is a 371 National Phase of PCT/US2019/016801filed Feb. 6, 2019, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/651,908, filed Apr. 3, 2018, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/629,935, filed Feb. 13, 2018, which are incorporatedby reference as if fully set forth

BACKGROUND

Operation in an unlicensed frequency band may be subject to some limitson the transmit power control (TPC), the RF output power and powerdensity given by the mean Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) andthe mean EIRP density at the highest power level. It may further besubject to requirements on the transmitter out of band emissions. Suchmay be specific to bands and/or geographical locations.

For New Radio (NR) unlicensed, the following areas may be considered:NR-based operation in unlicensed spectrum, including initial access,scheduling/hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), and mobility, alongwith coexistence methods with Long Term Evolution-Licensed AssistedAccess (LTE-LAA) and other incumbent radio access technologies (RATs),NR-based LAA cell connected with an LTE or NR anchor cell, as well asNR-based cell operating standalone in unlicensed spectrum.

SUMMARY

A wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) operable in new radio (NR)unlicensed frequency spectrum may be configured to monitor multiplebandwidth parts (BWPs). Monitoring multiple BWPs by a WTRU may compriseattempting by the WTRU to receive an indication that a BWP of aplurality of BWPs has been accessed by the cell. Alternatively, oradditionally, monitoring multiple BWPs by the WTRU may compriseperforming Listen Before Talk (LBT) by the WTRU on a plurality of BWPsto attempt to acquire the channel. The WTRU may further use a timer todetermine when the active BWP is deactivated and monitoring of multipleBWPs may resume. The WTRU may be further scheduled for a transmissionthat may be performed on any one of a set of BWPs, by for example,receiving a BWP agnostic uplink grant. The WTRU may then select anactive BWP in the set of BWPs by applying LBT to the set of BWPs. TheWTRU may then apply the BWP agnostic grant to the selected active BWPfor the granted uplink transmission. The WTRU may further perform radiolink monitoring (RLM) in both active and monitoring states of a BWP. TheWTRU may perform measurements on a monitored BWP during and/or outsideof channel occupancy time (COT). After the measurements, the WTRU maytransmit a measurement report on the monitored BWP during and/or outsideof COT. A fallback and/or default BWP may be used in case of inabilityto access carrier on the monitored BWP. The WTRU may also use BWP linkmonitoring rules to monitor radio links associated with the WTRU.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description,given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein like reference numerals in the figures indicate like elements,and wherein:

FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communicationssystem in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example wirelesstransmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communicationssystem illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network(RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within thecommunications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

FIG. 1D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and afurther example CN that may be used within the communications systemillustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an unlicensed carrier that is segmentedaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for use in aWTRU configured with a set of BWPs in unlicensed spectrum according toan embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating another example of a method for use ina WTRU configured with a set of BWPs in unlicensed spectrum according toan embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example Networks for Implementation of the Embodiments

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. Thecommunications system 100 may be a multiple access system that providescontent, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., tomultiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enablemultiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing ofsystem resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, thecommunications systems 100 may employ one or more channel accessmethods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA),orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tailunique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM(UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier(FBMC), and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wirelesstransmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d, a RAN104/113, a CN 106/115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108,the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciatedthat the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, basestations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, 102 d may be any type of device configured to operateand/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d, any of which may be referred to as a“station” and/or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and/or receivewireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobilestation, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, apager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), asmartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor,a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watchor other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, amedical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrialdevice and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devicesoperating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chaincontexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating oncommercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and 102 d may be interchangeably referred toas a UE.

The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114 aand/or a base station 114 b. Each of the base stations 114 a, 114 b maybe any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at leastone of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d to facilitate access to oneor more communication networks, such as the CN 106/115, the Internet110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations114 a, 114 b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNodeB, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller,an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the basestations 114 a, 114 b are each depicted as a single element, it will beappreciated that the base stations 114 a, 114 b may include any numberof interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

The base station 114 a may be part of the RAN 104/113, which may alsoinclude other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such asa base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relaynodes, etc. The base station 114 a and/or the base station 114 b may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or morecarrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown).These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or acombination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may providecoverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that maybe relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may furtherbe divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with thebase station 114 a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in oneembodiment, the base station 114 a may include three transceivers, i.e.,one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and mayutilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example,beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desiredspatial directions.

The base stations 114 a, 114 b may communicate with one or more of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d over an air interface 116, which may beany suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF),microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet(UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be establishedusing any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may bea multiple access system and may employ one or more channel accessschemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. Forexample, the base station 114 a in the RAN 104/113 and the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c may implement a radio technology such as Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), whichmay establish the air interface 115/116/117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA).WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed PacketAccess (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-SpeedDownlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed UL Packet Access(HSUPA).

In an embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS TerrestrialRadio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 usingLong Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/orLTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

In an embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which mayestablish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

In an embodiment, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, thebase station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may implement LTEradio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dualconnectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c may be characterized by multiple types of radioaccess technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types ofbase stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

In other embodiments, the base station 114 a and the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e.,Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperabilityfor Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1×, CDMA2000 EV-DO,Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), InterimStandard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM),Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and thelike.

The base station 114 b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B,Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitableRAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such asa place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrialfacility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and thelike. In one embodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish awireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102 d may implement a radio technology suchas IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Inyet another embodiment, the base station 114 b and the WTRUs 102 c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE,LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. Asshown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114 b may have a direct connection tothe Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114 b may not be required toaccess the Internet 110 via the CN 106/115.

The RAN 104/113 may be in communication with the CN 106/115, which maybe any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications,and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more ofthe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d. The data may have varying qualityof service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughputrequirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements,reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobilityrequirements, and the like. The CN 106/115 may provide call control,billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling,Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or performhigh-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although notshown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104/113 and/or theCN 106/115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANsthat employ the same RAT as the RAN 104/113 or a different RAT. Forexample, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104/113, which may beutilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106/115 may also be incommunication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

The CN 106/115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c, 102 d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or the othernetworks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephonenetworks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks anddevices that use common communication protocols, such as thetransmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/orthe internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. Thenetworks 112 may include wired and/or wireless communications networksowned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, thenetworks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, whichmay employ the same RAT as the RAN 104/113 or a different RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d in thecommunications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, 102 d may include multiple transceivers forcommunicating with different wireless networks over different wirelesslinks). For example, the WTRU 102 c shown in FIG. 1A may be configuredto communicate with the base station 114 a, which may employ acellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114 b, whichmay employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shownin FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120,a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126,a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132,a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136,and/or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated thatthe WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elementswhile remaining consistent with an embodiment.

The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in associationwith a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine,and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, dataprocessing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any otherfunctionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wirelessenvironment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120,which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1Bdepicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separatecomponents, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and thetransceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package orchip.

The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signalsto, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, thetransmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmitand/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit/receiveelement 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/orreceive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet anotherembodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured totransmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will beappreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured totransmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1B as asingle element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receiveelements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMOtechnology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two ormore transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) fortransmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that areto be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulatethe signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. Asnoted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, thetransceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, forexample.

The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receiveuser input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/orthe display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) displayunit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 mayaccess information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory,such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132.The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storagedevice. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identitymodule (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card,and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may accessinformation from, and store data in, memory that is not physicallylocated on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (notshown).

The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and maybe configured to distribute and/or control the power to the othercomponents in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitabledevice for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 mayinclude one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion),etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which maybe configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude andlatitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In additionto, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from abase station (e.g., base stations 114 a, 114 b) and/or determine itslocation based on the timing of the signals being received from two ormore nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 mayacquire location information by way of any suitablelocation-determination method while remaining consistent with anembodiment.

The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, whichmay include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provideadditional features, functionality and/or wired or wirelessconnectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include anaccelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera(for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, avibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, aBluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digitalmusic player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internetbrowser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, anactivity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one ormore sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientationsensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; ageolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, amagnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and/ora humidity sensor.

The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission andreception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated withparticular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) anddownlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous.The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit 139 toreduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via eitherhardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., aseparate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment,the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission andreception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated withparticular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or thedownlink (e.g., for reception)).

FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ anE-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communicationwith the CN 106.

The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c, though it will beappreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment,the eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may implement MIMO technology. Thus,the eNode-B 160 a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmitwireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

Each of the eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may be associated with aparticular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radioresource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of usersin the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160 b, 160 c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity(MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN)gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements is depictedas part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elementsmay be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162 a, 162 b, 162 cin the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. Forexample, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting aparticular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102 a,102 b, 102 c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control planefunction for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown)that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 cin the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route andforward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c. The SGW164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes duringinter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available forthe WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, managing and storing contexts of theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, and the like.

The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to packet-switched networks, such as theInternet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102b, 102 c and IP-enabled devices.

The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. Forexample, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c withaccess to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitatecommunications between the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and traditionalland-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include,or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem(IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and thePSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b,102 c with access to the other networks 112, which may include otherwired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by otherservice providers.

Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, itis contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such aterminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communicationinterfaces with the communication network.

In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an AccessPoint (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated withthe AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a DistributionSystem (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carriestraffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originatesfrom outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered tothe STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSSmay be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations.Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, forexample, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP maydeliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAswithin a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peertraffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directlybetween) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS).In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS oran 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS)mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within orusing the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS modeof communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” modeof communication.

When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similarmode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel,such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width(e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling.The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may beused by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certainrepresentative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with CollisionAvoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems.For CSMA/CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense theprimary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/ordetermined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may backoff. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time ina given BSS.

High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel forcommunication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHzchannel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHzwide channel.

Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz,and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may beformed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may beformed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining twonon-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channelencoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide thedata into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processingand time domain processing may be done on each stream separately. Thestreams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may betransmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA,the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may bereversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control(MAC).

Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. Thechannel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11ac. 802.11afsupports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space(TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representativeembodiment, 802.11ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine-TypeCommunications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTCdevices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilitiesincluding support for (e.g., only support for) certain and/or limitedbandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery lifeabove a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channelbandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include achannel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primarychannel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operatingbandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primarychannel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs inoperating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operatingmode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz widefor STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes.Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings maydepend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel isbusy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operatingmode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands maybe considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remainsidle and may be available.

In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be usedby 802.11ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the availablefrequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the availablefrequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidthavailable for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

FIG. 1D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NRradio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c overthe air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with theCN 115.

The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c, though it will beappreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs whileremaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 cmay each include one or more transceivers for communicating with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment,the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may implement MIMO technology. For example,gNBs 180 a, 108 b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/orreceive signals from the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c. Thus, the gNB 180 a,for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to,and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102 a. In an embodiment,the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may implement carrier aggregationtechnology. For example, the gNB 180 a may transmit multiple componentcarriers to the WTRU 102 a (not shown). A subset of these componentcarriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining componentcarriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180 a,180 b, 180 c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology.For example, WTRU 102 a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB180 a and gNB 180 b (and/or gNB 180 c).

The WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may communicate with gNBs 180 a, 180 b,180 c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. Forexample, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may varyfor different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portionsof the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c maycommunicate with gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c using subframe or transmissiontime intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containingvarying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths ofabsolute time).

The gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may be configured to communicate with theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c in a standalone configuration and/or anon-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102 b, 102 c may communicate with gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c withoutalso accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c).In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may utilizeone or more of gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c as a mobility anchor point. Inthe standalone configuration, WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may communicatewith gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c using signals in an unlicensed band. In anon-standalone configuration WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may communicatewith/connect to gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c while also communicatingwith/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c. Forexample, WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may implement DC principles tocommunicate with one or more gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c and one or moreeNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c substantially simultaneously. In thenon-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160 a, 160 b, 160 c may serve asa mobility anchor for WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and gNBs 180 a, 180 b,180 c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicingWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c.

Each of the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c may be associated with a particularcell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resourcemanagement decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the ULand/or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworkingbetween NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User PlaneFunction (UPF) 184 a, 184 b, routing of control plane informationtowards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182 a, 182 b andthe like. As shown in FIG. 1D, the gNBs 180 a, 180 b, 180 c maycommunicate with one another over an Xn interface.

The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1D may include at least one AMF 182 a, 182 b,at least one UPF 184 a,184 b, at least one Session Management Function(SMF) 183 a, 183 b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185 a, 185 b. Whileeach of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN 115, itwill be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/oroperated by an entity other than the CN operator.

The AMF 182 a, 182 b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180 a,180 b, 180 c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as acontrol node. For example, the AMF 182 a, 182 b may be responsible forauthenticating users of the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c, support fornetwork slicing (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with differentrequirements), selecting a particular SMF 183 a, 183 b, management ofthe registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobilitymanagement, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182 a,182 b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 cbased on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c.For example, different network slices may be established for differentuse cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC)access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB)access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and/or thelike. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switchingbetween the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radiotechnologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3GPP accesstechnologies such as WiFi.

The SMF 183 a, 183 b may be connected to an AMF 182 a, 182 b in the CN115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183 a, 183 b may also be connected toa UPF 184 a, 184 b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183 a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184 a, 184 b and configure the routingof traffic through the UPF 184 a, 184 b. The SMF 183 a, 183 b mayperform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address,managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providingdownlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may beIP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

The UPF 184 a, 184 b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180 a,180 b, 180 c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide theWTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to packet-switched networks, suchas the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102 b, 102 c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184 b may performother functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing userplane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user planeQoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and thelike.

The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. Forexample, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway(e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as aninterface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115may provide the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c with access to the othernetworks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networksthat are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In oneembodiment, the WTRUs 102 a, 102 b, 102 c may be connected to a localData Network (DN) 185 a, 185 b through the UPF 184 a, 184 b via the N3interface to the UPF 184 a, 184 b and an N6 interface between the UPF184 a, 184 b and the DN 185 a, 185 b.

In view of FIGS. 1A-1D, and the corresponding description of FIGS.1A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein withregard to one or more of: WTRU 102 a-d, Base Station 114 a-b, eNode-B160 a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180 a-c, AMF 182 a-ab, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183 a-b, DN 185 a-b, and/or any other device(s) describedherein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown).The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulateone or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, theemulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulatenetwork and/or WTRU functions.

The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests ofother devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator networkenvironment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may performthe one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partiallyimplemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network in order to test other devices within thecommunication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform theone or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented ordeployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. Theemulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposesof testing and/or may performing testing using over-the-air wirelesscommunications.

The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, includingall, functions while not being implemented or deployed as part of awired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulationdevices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratoryand/or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and/or wirelesscommunication network in order to implement testing of one or morecomponents. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment.Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry(e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by theemulation devices to transmit and/or receive data.

Operation in Unlicensed Spectrum

Operation in an unlicensed frequency band may be subject to requirementson any of a Nominal Channel Bandwidth (NCB) and a Occupied ChannelBandwidth (OCB), for example, that are defined for unlicensed spectrumin the 5 GHz region. The Nominal Channel Bandwidth may be a widest bandof frequencies inclusive of guard bands assigned to a single channel,and, for example, may be at least 5 MHz. The Occupied Channel Bandwidthmay be a bandwidth containing 99% of the power of the signal, and may bebetween 80% and 100% of the declared NCB. For example, during anestablished communication, a device may operate temporarily in a modewhere its OCB may be reduced to as low as 40% of its NCB, with a minimumOCB of 4 MHz.

Channel access in an unlicensed frequency band typically may use aListen Before Talk (LBT) mechanism. LBT may be used independently ofwhether a channel is occupied. The LBT procedure may be defined as amechanism by which equipment applies (e.g., a device performs) a clearchannel assessment (CCA) check, for example, before using the channel.The CCA may utilize at least energy detection to determine the presenceor absence of other signals on a channel, for example, in order todetermine if a channel is any of occupied or clear. Usage of LBT in theunlicensed bands may be expected according to European and Japaneseregulations. Carrier sensing via LBT may be used for fair sharing of theunlicensed spectrum and hence it may be considered to be an importantfeature for fair and friendly operation in the unlicensed spectrum in asingle global solution framework. If, for example, after a first CCA,the channel is assessed as clear, the LBT may be followed by asubsequent transmission. If, for example, after the first CCA, thechannel is assessed as occupied, the LBT may comprise a subsequent CCA.

For frame-based systems, LBT may be characterized by any of a CCA time(e.g., around 20 μs), a channel occupancy time (COT) (e.g., between 1 msand 10 ms), an idle period (e.g., at least 5% of channel occupancytime), a fixed frame period (e.g., corresponding to the addition of thechannel occupancy time and an idle period), a short control signalingtransmission time (e.g., maximum duty cycle of 5% within an observationperiod of 50 ms), and a CCA energy detection threshold. For frame-basedsystems, a CCA may be performed periodically (e.g., once every fixedperiod).

For load-based systems (e.g., transmit/receive structure may not befixed in time), if the channel is assessed as occupied (e.g., after thefirst CCA), the LBT may perform an extended CCA, for example, byobserving the channel for a duration of N channel observation times. LBTmay be characterized by the number N corresponding to the number ofclear idle slots in extended CCA, for example, instead of the fixedframe period. N may be selected within a range, for example randomly.

Deployment scenarios may include any of different standalone NR-basedoperation, different variants of dual connectivity operation (e.g.,E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) with at least one carrieroperating according to the LTE radio access technology (RAT), NR DC withat least two sets of one or more carriers operating according to the NRRAT), and/or different variants of carrier aggregation (CA) (e.g.,including different combinations of zero or more carriers of each of LTEand NR RATs). For example, in LTE, the following functionalities may beconsidered for an LAA system.

First, LBT for clear channel assessment (CCA) as previously describedmay be considered for a LAA system.

Second, discontinuous transmission on a carrier with limited maximumtransmission duration is described herein. In unlicensed spectrum,channel availability may not always be guaranteed. In addition, certainregions such as Europe and Japan may expect a transmission burst in theunlicensed spectrum to be bounded by a maximum duration. Hence,discontinuous transmission with limited maximum transmission durationmay be an expected functionality for LAA.

Third, carrier selection is described herein. As there is a largeavailable bandwidth of unlicensed spectrum, carrier selection may beexpected for LAA nodes, for example, to select the carriers with lowinterference to achieve good co-existence with other unlicensed spectrumdeployments.

Fourth, transmit power control is described herein. Transmit powercontrol (TPC) may be a regulatory requirement in some regions by whichthe transmitting device should be able to reduce the transmit power, forexample, in a proportion of 3 dB or 6 dB, compared to the maximumnominal transmit power.

Fifth, radio resource management (RRM) measurements including cellidentification is described herein. The RRM measurements including cellidentification may enable mobility between secondary cells (SCells) androbust operation in the unlicensed band.

Sixth, channel state information (CSI) measurement, for example,including channel and interference measurement, is described herein. AWTRU that is operating in an unlicensed carrier may also supportfrequency/time estimation and synchronization functions to enable RRMmeasurements and for successful reception of information on theunlicensed band.

Operation in New Radio (NR)

In NR, a WTRU may operate using BWPs in a carrier. First, a WTRUaccesses the cell using an initial BWP. The WTRU may then be configuredwith a set of BWPs to continue operation. At any given moment, a WTRUmay have one active BWP. Each BWP is configured with a set of controlresource sets (CORESETs) within which a WTRU may blind decode PDCCHcandidates for scheduling, among other things.

Meanwhile, in NR, a WTRU may operate using variable transmissionduration and feedback timing. Variable transmission duration may includeany of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or physical uplinkshared channel (PUSCH) occupying a contiguous subset of symbols of aslot. Variable feedback timing may include DL assignment downlinkcontrol information (DCI) having an indication to provide (e.g.,including information indicating) feedback timing for the WTRU, forexample, by pointing to a specific physical uplink control channel(PUCCH) resource.

There are two types of PUCCH resources in NR, short PUCCH and longPUCCH. The former can be done over one or two OFDM symbols, while thelatter may be up to fourteen OFDM symbols. Each PUCCH type has multipleformats depending on the payload.

For 5G NR, very large bandwidths (BWs) are supported. Furthermore, usingmmW, large swaths of spectrum may be used for unlicensed access. In sucha scenario, it may be detrimental to assume that any access of theunlicensed spectrum should be using the entire carrier BW. That is, insuch a scenario, the probability that the entire carrier BW is availablemay diminish as the size of the carrier increases. Further, in such ascenario, most transmissions may not need the entire carrier BW anyway.

According to embodiments, an unlicensed spectrum may be accessed usingportions (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP) of a carrier's BW. For example, aWTRU may use only a portion of the carrier BW that is needed for atransmission. According to embodiments, access using portions of thecarrier's BW may be flexible, for example, by allowing flexibleassociations between a cell or WTRU and a subset of the over-all BW. Inthe case of flexible associations, the probability of being repeatedlyblocked by a single interferer may be reduced. According to embodiments,in a case of using portions of a carrier BW, a WTRU may operate on afull carrier BW, for example, while complying with regulations (e.g., asdiscussed above) and, for example, without being penalized with an undueincrease in latency.

Configuration of Bandwidth Sub Bands (BWSBs) in Unlicensed FrequencyBands

According to embodiments, an unlicensed frequency band may be divided ina plurality of bandwidth sub bands (BWSBs), wherein each BWSB is asubset of the unlicensed frequency band. A BWSB may be any of: (1) a NRBWP as previously described applied to an unlicensed frequency band; and(2) a sub band of a single NR BWP in the unlicensed spectrum. For thesake of clarity and without loss of generality, embodiments aredescribed herein using the terms “BWP”, and “set (or plurality) ofBWPs”, but they are equally applicable to any kind of BWSB and set (orplurality of) BWSBs, wherein a BWSB may correspond to a NR BWP or maycorrespond to a sub-division of a single NR BWP. For example,embodiments described herein may be applicable to a case of a single NRBWP in unlicensed spectrum being divided in a plurality of BWSBs.

A BWSB (which may be interchangeably referred to as a BWP herein) may beany of a DL BWSB, or an UL BWSB. A BWSB may also include both a DL BWSBand an associated UL BWSB. With reference to embodiments describedherein, unless explicitly described as DL or UL, a BWSB (or BWP) mayrefer to any of a DL BWSB (or DL BWP), an UL BWSB (or UL BWP), or both.

Configuration of BWPs on unlicensed carrier is described herein.According embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with a set of BWPs, forexample, a set of BWPs that the WTRU may monitor for activity from aserving cell. Such a set of BWPs may be named “monitored” BWPs. The setof monitored BWPs may be a subset of all configured BWPs.

According to embodiments, for each monitored BWP, a WTRU may beconfigured with any of a monitoring period and an offset. The timing ofthe monitoring period and offset may be relative to any of a timingobtained from a licensed carrier (e.g., LAA) or to a timing obtainedupon cell selection of initial access of the unlicensed carrier. Theconfigurable monitoring period and offset may determine (e.g., indicate)a set of occasions (e.g., repeatedly occurring in time, periodic oraperiodic times) for assessing whether a BWP is active or not. Therepeated occasions may be separated from each other according to aconfigurable monitoring period. The offset may be an amount of time, forexample, the time interval between a periodic reference time and theoccurrence of the occasion. The occasion may have a configurableduration, for example, representing the amount of time during which aWTRU may assess whether a BWP is active or not. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto, and for example, the configurableduration may represent the amount of time during which a WTRU may notassess whether a BWP is active. A configurable duration may be any of anumber of slots, a number of symbols, a number of groups of symbols, ora number of time units.

According to embodiments, monitoring a BWP may include monitoring an ULBWP by repeatedly listening to a channel of the UL BWP, for example, toassess whether the channel is clear or not, at configurable and/orrepeated occasions, (which may be referred to as channel listeningoccasions). Channel listening may be performed using CCA or LBT. For thesake of clarity and without loss of generality the embodiments describedherein may be described with LBT as a channel listening/acquisitionmechanism for checking whether a channel is acquirable. However,embodiments described herein are not limited to LBT, and any other kindof channel listening/acquisition technique adapted to determine whethera channel is acquirable may be applicable to the embodiments describedherein. As referred to herein, the channel listening occasions may alsobe LBT occasions. According to embodiments, monitoring a BWP may includemonitoring a DL BWP by repeatedly attempting to receive a transmissionfrom a serving cell, for example, at configurable and/or repeatedoccasions (which may be referred to as monitoring occasions).

According to embodiments, at each monitoring occasion (e.g., determinedaccording to any of the monitoring period and the offset of a BWP), aWTRU may attempt to receive a transmission from a serving cell. Thetransmission may be any of a DCI, a synchronization signal block (SSB),a reference signal (RS), or a preamble-like transmission. In a case ofthe DCI transmission, the WTRU may attempt blind detection of a DCIformat, for example, in at least one search space in the monitoredBWP(s). In a case of the SSB transmission, the WTRU may attempt toreceive a SSB transmission (e.g., or a component thereof), for example,any of a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondarysynchronization signal (SSS), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), or achannel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). In a case of the RStransmission, the WTRU may attempt to receive the RS (e.g., CSI-RS,Demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), phase training-reference signal(PT-RS)). In a case of the preamble-like transmission, the WTRU mayattempt to detect a sequence on a set of resource that may map to apreamble indicating that the gNB has acquired the BWP.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with multiple BWPs,for example, to be monitored according to a configurable schedule. Eachof the multiple BWPs may be configured with a same monitoring period,and for example, with different offsets. In such a configuration, theWTRU may cycle through the BWPs, for example, to attempt to determine ifa DL transmission is present and/or if a channel is available for an ULtransmission. The configurable schedule (e.g., the monitoring period andthe different offsets corresponding to the different BWPs) may bereceived by the WTRU, for example, from a gNB in a signaling message.

According to embodiments, any of the multiple BWPs or the configurableschedule may be preconfigured in the WTRU. For example, the WTRU may bepreconfigured according to any of factory setting parameters, a networkconfiguration, a default configuration, etc. According to embodiments,any of the multiple BWPs or the monitoring schedule configuration (e.g.,the configurable schedule) may be received by the WTRU in a signalingmessage (e.g. in a broadcasted message or via RRC configuration).According to embodiments, any of a set of BWPs or a configurableschedule may be preconfigured in the WTRU and further updated by areception of a signaling message. Any signaling message for carryingand/or updating the configuration of any of the set of BWPs or themonitoring schedule is compatible with any of the present embodiments.

According to embodiments, the WTRU may receive a DCI indicating a BWP isbecoming active. The WTRU may monitor PDCCH candidates in the monitoredBWPs (e.g., at specific monitoring occasions). The WTRU may performblind detection on a subset of DCI formats. A received DCI for (e.g.,indicating) activation of a BWP may also include scheduling information,for example, for any of a first DL assignment or UL grant. A DCI may bereceived at any time during a COT. A COT may be defined as the amount oftime during which a channel is occupied by any number of nodes. A DCIreceived at any time during a COT may also be used to indicate (e.g., toany number of WTRUs) a change of active BWPs at an indicated time (e.g.,the DCI may include an information indicating at which time a new BWPmay be active). The WTRU may stop monitoring (e.g., no longer checkwhether a channel acquisition DCI is transmitted) the BWPs, for example,at the indicated time. The indicated time may be, for example, includedin the DCI.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with a set ofresources on which to perform measurements on a monitored BWP. Resourcesmay include, but are not limited to, any of frequency channels and timeslots. According to embodiments, such resources may be valid, forexample, only in a case where the WTRU has determined that the gNB hasacquired the BWP for transmission. According to embodiments, suchresources may be valid for measurements (e.g., a WTRU may performmeasurements on such resources), for example, only if, or regardless ofif, the gNB has acquired the BWP for transmission. For example, a WTRUmay be configured with zero power channel state information referencesignal (e.g., ZP CSI-RS) resources on which it may measure BWPoccupancy. Such BWP occupancy may be determined, for example, as afunction of any of: (1) a number of occasions when no activity isdetermined on the resource; (2) a percentage of occasions when activity(or no activity) is determined on the resource; (3) an energy leveldetected on the resource; and (4) a percentage of occasions where energylevel exceeds a threshold associated with the resource.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may report measurements taken (e.g.,performed) on a monitored BWP, for example, by acquiring the channel(e.g. of the monitored BWP) and using a configured resource on which toreport such measurements. The channel (e.g. of the monitored BWP) may beacquired (e.g., is acquirable) using rules described herein. The WTRUmay report measurements taken (e.g., performed) on a set of BWPs byacquiring a BWP (e.g., any one BWP from the set for which measurementshave been acquired and/or performed, or any other BWP for which the WTRUmay acquire the channel) and transmitting the measurements (e.g.,measurement report(s)) for any number of BWPs on a configured resourceof the acquired BWP. As described further below, a WTRU may acquire aBWP by (e.g., successfully) acquiring the channel of a BWP according toembodiments described herein.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with resources (e.g.,reference signal resources) on which to perform measurements for one ormore BWP(s). There may be a case where the WTRU may not detect areference signal resource (e.g., due to the gNB not acquiring the BWPfor transmission). The WTRU may receive any of a configuration or anindication that provides a mapping of previously transmitted resources.Such configuration may be received by the WTRU in another (e.g., future)transmission, for example, to enable the WTRU to determine that anundetected RS was not transmitted by the gNB, and, for example, tobetter formulate measurement reports (e.g., by ignoring non-transmittedRSs, or by using the knowledge in determination of a measurement reportvalue). Such a mapping may be provided in a transmission, for example,that may occur in any of the BWP for which the RS is configured oranother BWP monitored by the WTRU.

According to embodiments, there may be a case where the WTRU determinesthat a COT is ongoing (e.g., due to any of the WTRU acquiring thechannel or the reception of an indication that the channel/BWP has beenacquired by the gNB) on a BWP (or a set of BWPs). In such a case, theWTRU may assume that any RS configured to be transmitted on non-acquiredBWPs are to be considered to not have been transmitted. According toembodiments, a WTRU may be configured with measurement gaps within aCOT, for example, to detect RSs transmitted in other BWPs. Suchmeasurement gaps may be any of semi-statically defined or dynamicallyreceived from the network (e.g., indicated upon the network acquiringthe required BWP to transmit the RS).

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with resources totransmit UL RS. In a case of transmitting UL RS, the WTRU may indicateto the network any successful (and/or unsuccessful) RS transmission dueto channel acquisition.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with resources totransmit an RS on a second (e.g., additional) BWP during a COT for afirst acquired BWP. In such a case, the WTRU may be provided RStransmission gaps in the first BWP during which it may attempt toacquire the second BWP and transmit the RS on the acquired second BWP.Upon returning to the first BWP with the original COT, the WTRU mayperform LBT (e.g., a shorter LBT), for example, to reacquire the firstBWP.

Determining a BWP is Active

Determination of active BWP is described herein. According toembodiments, a WTRU configured with a set of monitored BWPs may not havean active BWP. An active BWP may be defined as any of: the cell hasacquired the BWP, for example, for any of DL transmission or ULtransmission, or the WTRU has acquired the BWP, for example, for any ofUL transmission or DL transmissions.

According to embodiments, there may be a case where a BWP includes a DLBWP associated with an UL BWP, and the DL BWP has been acquired by thegNB for a DL transmission. In such a case, any of (e.g., both) the DLBWP and the associated UL BWP may be determined active. There may be acase where the channel of the UL BWP has been successfully acquired bythe WTRU. In such a case, any of (e.g., both) the UL BWP and theassociated DL BWP may be determined active.

According to embodiments, in a case where a BWP is activated (e.g. by asuccessful acquisition of any of the DL BWP by the cell or the UL BWP bythe WTRU), the WTRU may operate according to any of the followingvariants. In a first variant, in the case where a BWP is active, anyconfigured DL transmissions may be valid. For example, any periodic RSmay be assumed present if a BWP is active. In another example, the PDCCHmonitoring occasions (e.g., determined according to any of periodicityand offset of the configurable schedule) of any number of search spacesmay be used, and, for example, the WTRU may perform blind detection on(e.g., the applicable) PDCCH candidates. For example, SSB may betransmitted. SPS (Semi-Persistent Scheduling) DL transmissions may bedeemed present, for example, only when a BWP is active.

In a second variant, in a case where a BWP is active, any configured ULtransmissions may be valid, for example, without requiring a preliminarychannel listening such as LBT and/or with requiring a short LBT. Theremay be a case including any of the following: random access resourcesare valid, PUCCH resources are valid, grant-free UL transmission may beperformed, or SPS UL transmissions may be deemed possible only when aBWP is active.

In a third variant, in a case where a BWP is active, radio linkmonitoring (RLM) measurements may be performed on applicable RS. In afourth variant, in a case where a BWP is active, a previously configuredbeam pair may be valid in the BWP. The validity of a beam pair maydepend on any of: (1) whether the beam pair was used in the same or anadjacent BWP (e.g., a previously configured beam pair for a BWP may onlybe valid in that BWP); or (2) whether the beam pair was deemed (e.g.,determined, recently) applicable. For example, the validity of a beampair may expire in a case where the BWP has been inactive, for example,more than a configured amount of time. Any of the embodiments discussedherein may use (e.g., implement, perform, etc.) any combination of thefirst, second, third, or fourth variants.

UL-Based BWP Activation

WTRU-based determination and indication of an active BWP are describedherein. In a case of WTRU-based (which may also be referred to asUL-based) BWP acquisition, according to embodiments, a WTRU may performa channel acquisition, such as for example, LBT on any number ofmonitored BWPs. In such a case, the LBT granularity may be per BWP.According to embodiments, LBT may be directional (e.g., beam-based). TheWTRU may use any of a previously valid beam or set of beams tied to aBWP. Such a beam association may depend on an amount of time since thebeam was last used on the BWP. There may be a case where there may nolonger be a valid beam association with a BWP. In such a case, the WTRUmay cycle through a set of (e.g., possible) beams to perform LBT foracquiring the BWP.

According to embodiments, a BWP may be determined active on conditionthe channel of BWP is acquirable (via, for example, a successfulacquisition of the channel of the BWP). A successful channel acquisition(e.g. a check whether a channel is acquirable) may be (e.g., optionally)followed by a (e.g., subsequent) UL transmission. In a first variant aBWP may be activated (e.g., only) upon a successful channel acquisition.In other words, according to this first variant, once the channel hasbeen successfully acquired (or checked as acquirable), no subsequent ULtransmission needs to be performed for activating the BWP. The BWP maybe activated in a case where the channel is available for transmission.For example, the BWP may be activated at the end of the channelacquisition process, which may be when the channel is considered asavailable (e.g. acquirable) for transmission by the WTRU. In a secondvariant, a BWP may be activated upon a successful channel acquisitionfollowed by a (e.g., subsequent) transmission (as described below infurther details). In other words, according to this second variant, a(e.g., subsequent) UL transmission may be transmitted (e.g., needs to bestarted) for activating the BWP. The BWP may be activated, for example,at any of the beginning or the end of the UL transmission. In a thirdvariant, a BWP may be activated upon a successful channel acquisition,for example, followed by a (e.g., subsequent) successful transmission.In other words, according to this third variant, a (e.g., subsequent) ULtransmission should be transmitted (e.g., may need to be performed), forexample, in order to (e.g., successfully) activate the BWP. The BWP maybe activated, for example, in a case where a positive acknowledgement isreceived from the gNB.

According to embodiments, the WTRU may perform LBT on any number of BWPs(e.g., for activating a BWP) at any moment, for example, of an ULtransmission (e.g., that is to be) performed by the WTRU. According toembodiments, the WTRU may be configured with (e.g., possible) LBToccasions per any number of and/or sets of BWPs. For example, thepossible LBT occasions per BWP may have any of a periodicity and anoffset. According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with aconfigurable schedule comprising any of a same period and differentoffsets per BWP, for example, to enable cycling of LBT occasions perBWP, in a manner similar to that described herein for monitoring of DLtransmissions over multiple monitored BWP.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with UL resources,which may include BWP-specific UL resources. The WTRU may attempt LBT ona monitored BWP which has an upcoming resource applicable to the type oftransmission (e.g., required, needed, to be, etc.) performed by theWTRU.

According to embodiments the WTRU may be any of configured withBWP-agnostic UL resources (e.g., UL resources not related to a specificBWP) or scheduled with an UL transmission with frequency resourceallocation that may be mapped to any number of BWP(s). The WTRU maycyclically and/or sequentially perform LBT on a set of configured BWPsaccording to a configurable schedule and may activate the BWP of the setof BWPs for which LBT is successful.

According to embodiments, in a case of successful LBT (e.g. on conditiona channel is acquirable) on any number of BWPs, the WTRU may perform anUL transmission on the any number of monitored BWP. The WTRU may (e.g.,then) consider the any number of BWPs to be its active BWP(s). Accordingto embodiments, the UL transmission may include any of: (1) a PRACHpreamble transmission; (2) an SRS transmission; (3) a transmission on aPUCCH resource; or (4) a PUSCH transmission. For example, a WTRU may beconfigured with conditional resources on which to perform grant-free orSPS UL transmissions. The condition for transmission may be successfulLBT on the BWP and/or set of BWPs. As previously described, the WTRU may(e.g., be expected to) wait for an acknowledgement from a serving cellbefore considering a BWP active.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may indicate, for example, to thenetwork, any of the acquired BWP(s) and the (e.g., specific) secondarycell(s) (SCell(s)) for which they are valid. For example, the WTRU maytransmit an indication on a (e.g., possibly licensed) primary cell(PCell). The WTRU may be configured with UL resources on the PCell, forexample, to provide an indication of unlicensed channel acquisition. TheUL resources may be implicitly (and/or explicitly) tied to (e.g.,associated with) WTRU LBT occasions and, for example, the WTRU may senda message (e.g., a simple message, as short as one bit, but not limitedto one bit) to indicate that the LBT on the associated resource wassuccessful.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may determine any of the LBT period andoffset of a BWP according to a semi-static configuration. A semi-staticconfiguration may be a configuration that is updated, for example, at acertain time, periodically, via a RRC (re)configuration, etc.Semi-static (re)configuration updates may remain valid for a certaintime, for example, up to the next reconfiguration. Semi-staticreconfigurations may differ from dynamic adjustments in being triggeredby different types of signaling messages. Dynamic configuration may beupdated, for example, via an information element in a DCI. Dynamicconfigurations may (e.g., typically) be processed by a WTRU more rapidlythan semi-static configurations, though semi-static configurations maybe (e.g., typically more) robust.

According to embodiments, any of the LBT period and offset of at leastone BWP may be determined and/or updated in a configurable schedule, forexample, based on activity on any number of (e.g., other) BWPs. Forexample, a WTRU may be configured with any of a fallback or default BWP.In a case where the WTRU is unable to acquire a BWP for UL transmission(e.g., from any of the monitored or configured BWPs) for more than a(e.g., configurable) amount of time, the WTRU may assume (e.g.,determine, operate according to, etc.) an updated (e.g., a new) any ofLBT period and offset for any of the fallback or default BWP. Suchassumption may provide more LBT occasions, for example, to acquire thefallback BWP. In a case of acquisition of the fallback BWP, the WTRU mayprovide any of an indication or feedback report to the network, forexample, for indicating any of the need to use/update the fallback LBTperiod/offset or a cause of using/updating the fallback LBTperiod/offset.

Cell Based BWP Activation

Cell based determination and indication of an active BWP are describedherein. In a case of DL-based BWP acquisition, a WTRU may determine thata monitored BWP and/or a set of BWPs may be (e.g., used as) an activeBWP, for example, upon reception of an initial transmission detectedduring a monitoring occasion.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may determine that a BWP has become anactive BWP, for example, upon reception of an indication on a cell(e.g., another cell, such as a PCell). The indication may include a setof BWPs associated with any number of SCells, for example, for which anetwork has acquired the channel. The indication may (e.g., also)include a type of LBT, for example, the type of LBT used to acquire thechannel (e.g., check whether the channel is acquirable). The indicationmay include an indicator (e.g., information) indicating whether the WTRUmay (e.g., also) use the same channel for transmission during the COT.

According to embodiments, upon determining that any number of monitoredBWPs has been activated, a WTRU may pause (e.g., suspend, stop,terminate, cease, etc.) monitoring activity on (e.g., the other)monitored BWPs. According to embodiments, a WTRU may monitor (e.g.,continue monitoring) other monitored BWPs, and may be configured withmeasurement gaps in the active BWP, for example, to perform cross-BWPmonitoring.

According to embodiments, multiple BWPs may share a monitoring occasion.In such a case, the WTRU may monitor any (e.g., both) of the BWPs for atransmission, for example, indicating the channel is acquired. The WTRUmay receive an indicator indicating (e.g., may be indicated) whether thechannel acquired is a single one of the BWPs sharing a monitoringoccasion or whether it is the aggregate of the shared BWPs.

According to embodiments, any of the monitoring period and offset of aBWP may be determined by semi-static configuration. According toembodiments, any of the monitoring period and offset of any number ofBWPs may be determined and/or updated in a configurable schedule, forexample, based on activity on any number of (e.g., other) BWPs. Forexample, a WTRU may be configured with any of a fallback or defaultmonitored BWP. In a case where the WTRU has not received a DLtransmission on any BWP, for example, for a duration exceeding an (e.g.,possibly configurable) amount of time, a WTRU may assume an updated(e.g., new) monitoring period and/or offset for any of the fallback ordefault monitored BWP. In such a case, more DL channel acquisitionopportunities may be provided on any number of BWPs, for example, toenable reconfiguration of the WTRU.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an unlicensed carrier that is segmentedaccording to embodiments. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , anunlicensed carrier may be segmented into three BWPs 21, 22, 23, whichmay be used in and/or applied to any of embodiments described herein. AWTRU may have different monitoring occasions 210, 212, 220, 222, 230,232 on each monitored BWP 21, 22, 23. Furthermore, the WTRU may havedifferent LBT occasions 211, 221, 223, 231, 233 (e.g., time instances toattempt LBT) on the monitored BWPs 21, 22, 23. For simplificationreasons, the illustrated monitored BWPs 21, 22, 23 may be (e.g., usedas) any of UL BWP or DL BWP. FIG. 2 illustrates cyclic monitoring of thethree BPWs 21, 22, 23 according to a configurable schedule. The periodof the configurable schedule, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 2 ,may be a time difference between two successive monitoring occasions210, 212 of a same BWP 21. The different offsets of the three BWPs maybe configured such that any of the monitoring and LBT occasions do notoverlap for the different BWPs, for example, so that the monitoringand/or channel listening may be performed sequentially by a WTRU for thethree BWPs 21, 22, 23.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a WTRU may monitor DL transmissions in afirst BWP 21 during a first monitoring occasion 210. As illustrated inFIG. 2 , in a case where no transmission is successfully received by theWTRU during the first monitoring occasion 210, the WTRU may then listento the channel of the first BWP 21 during the first channel listeningoccasion 211 (e.g. if it needs to make an UL transmission), occurringjust after the first monitoring occasion 210. As illustrated in FIG. 2 ,there may be a case where the channel of the first BWP 21 may be any ofnot successfully acquired by the gNB for DL transmission or not needed(e.g., required) by the gNB for DL transmission during the first channellistening occasion 211. In such a case, the WTRU may switch to thesecond BWP 22, for example, for performing any of monitoring orlistening. For example, in such a case, the WTRU may monitor DLtransmissions in the second BWP 22 during a subsequent monitoringoccasion 220 (e.g., occurring after the first listening occasion 211 ofthe first BWP 21). Further in such a case, no transmission may be (e.g.,successfully) received by the WTRU during the monitoring occasion 220,and the WTRU may listen to the channel of the second BWP 22 during asubsequent listening occasion 221 (e.g. if needed or required for an ULtransmission) and, for example, occurring just after the monitoringoccasion 220. FIG. 2 further illustrates that the second channel 22 maynot be successfully acquired during the subsequent listening occasion221 (or is not needed or required at that time) and that the WTRU mayswitch to the third BWP 23 for monitoring DL transmissions in the thirdBWP 23 during a further monitoring occasion 230 (e.g., occurring afterthe subsequent listening occasion 221 of the second BWP 22). Thedifferent offsets of the configurable schedule may be determined, forexample, to allow the WTRU to sequentially and/or repeatedly monitor theset of BWPs in successive monitoring and channel listening occasions forthe different BWPs. Although FIG. 2 illustrates a configurable schedulewhere a monitoring occasion 220 of a (second) BWP 22 is scheduled justafter the listening occasion 211 of the preceding (first) BWP 21, thepresent disclosure is not limited to such kind of schedule, and anyconfigurable schedule may include any (e.g., different) amounts of timebetween non-overlapping (monitoring/listening) occasions of differentBWPs according to embodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a WTRU may fail to acquire the channel forthe third BWP 23 or may not need to acquire the channel at that time,for example, because of not having any pending UL transmission, duringthe listening occasion 231. The WTRU may switch (e.g., back) to thefirst BWP 21 and to the next monitoring occasion 212 (e.g., occurring afixed amount of time after the previous monitoring occasion 210 of thesame BWP 21). As illustrated in FIG. 2 , in a case of (e.g., after) asuccessful reception of an activation indication in the first BWP 21during a monitoring occasion 212, the WTRU may begin monitoring thatBWP's 21 CORESETs 215, for example, to receive scheduling information.Furthermore, some resource may be assigned for UL transmissions 216,217, 218, 219 (e.g., possibly) not needing or requiring LBT (e.g., ULtransmissions such as short PUCCH). In a case of completion of thetransmission opportunity 200, the WTRU may assume that all BWPs are(e.g., back to) being monitored and the WTRU may resume the cyclicmonitoring of the three BWPs 21, 22, 23. In such a case, the WTRU maycease monitoring (e.g., other) BWPs 22, 23 when at least one BWP 21becomes active. According to embodiments, a WTRU may maintain cyclicmonitoring of a set of BWPs in a case where any number of (e.g., evenone of) the monitored BWPs is activated.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , in a case of determining, by the WTRU, thatan UL transmission needs to be made, the WTRU may begin performing LBTin its LBT occasions 211, 221, 223, 231, 233. For example, the WTRU mayreceive a BWP agnostic grant for an uplink transmission during the timeinterval 200 during which the first BWP 21 is active. The WTRU may usethe first BWP 21 for the UL transmission associated with the BWPagnostic grant if the channel occupancy time (COT) for the active BWP 21(e.g., after completion of the BWP agnostic grant UL transmission) isnot exceeding (e.g., or going to exceed) a maximum channel occupancytime (MOOT). If the BWP agnostic grant for an UL transmission isreceived at a point where the COT is close to the MOOT, the WTRU may(e.g., then) resume cyclic monitoring of the three BWPs, for example, tolook for another BWP 22, 23 to activate. The WTRU may switch to the next(e.g., second) BWP 22 of the configurable schedule. As illustrated inFIG. 2 , a WTRU may fail to detect a DL transmission in the nextmonitoring occasion 222 of the second BWP 22, and may fail to acquirethe channel of the second BWP 22 in the subsequent listening occasion223. The WTRU may (e.g., then) switch to the third BWP 23, may fail todetect any DL transmission during the next monitoring occasion 232 ofthe second BWP 22, but may succeed in acquiring the channel of the thirdBWP 23 in the subsequent listening occasion 233. The WTRU may (e.g.,thus) acquire the third BWP 23, which may be considered as (e.g., deemedto be) active 236. In a case of activating such a BWP 23, the WTRU mayoperate such (e.g., assume) that some DL resources are also applicable(e.g., without requiring DL LBT), for example DL resources for any ofscheduling or HARQ-ACK.

Activating a BWP from a Function

Determining an active BWP according to a function is described herein.According to embodiments, a WTRU may operate as though (e.g., assumethat) any number of BWPs is active. The active BWP may cycle through(e.g., all the possible) BWPs in a case of any of the WTRU has notperformed LBT or the WTRU has not (e.g., successfully) receivedinformation indicating a BWP acquisition from the cell. Information maybe any of a transmission from the cell (e.g., any of a DCI, a SSB, a RS,or a preamble like transmission, etc.), or any signaling messageaccording to the embodiments described herein. For example, at anymonitoring occasion (e.g., at every monitoring occasion as describedherein), a WTRU may assume that the BWP being monitored is the activeBWP. Furthermore, that BWP (e.g., assumed to be active) may remain theactive BWP until another BWP is to be monitored according to theconfigurable schedule.

According to embodiments, the active BWP may be determined according toa COT timer. A COT timer may be started in a case where a BWP is (e.g.,becomes) active, for example, to monitor the duration of the channeloccupancy. The COT timer may be set as a maximum channel occupation time(MCOT) value derived, for example, according regulations, rules,requirements, etc. When a COT timer is running, the active BWP may bethe BWP that was active when the timer was started. When the COT timeris not running, the active BWP may be determined as a function of any ofthe following: (1) a BWP with a most recent monitoring occasion; (2) anyof a subframe, slot, or symbol number; (3) any of a configured ordefault BWP; and (4) a random seed. In the case of any of the configuredor default BWP, the WTRU may be configured with a default BWP and mayhave any of measurement gaps or measurement resources configured in thatdefault BWP, for example, to attempt reception in monitoring occasionsof other BWPs.

Virtual Active BWP

Virtual active BWP is described herein. In NR, configuring a WTRU with aset of (e.g., real, for example, in contrast to virtual) BWPs mayinclude, for each BWP of the set of BWPs, providing the WTRU with thefollowing parameters: (1) a subcarrier spacing, indicated by the NRhigher layer parameter subcarrierSpacing, (2) a cyclic prefix indicatedby the NR higher layer parameter cyclicPrefix, (3) a first PhysicalResource Block (PRB) and a number of contiguous PRBs indicated by the NRhigher layer parameter locationAndBandwidth, the first PRB being a PRBoffset relative to the PRB indicated by NR the higher layer parametersoffsetToCarrier and subcarrierSpacing, (4) an index in the set of BWPsindicated by the respective higher layer parameter bwp-Id, and (5) a setof BWP-common and BWP-dedicated parameters indicated by the NR higherlayer parameters bwp-Common and bwp-Dedicated.

In NR, for each BWP, a WTRU may be configured with Control Resource Sets(CORESETs), as previously described. A CORESET may be a time-frequencyresource, for example, in which the WTRU may try to decode candidatecontrol channels using any number of search spaces.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be configured with a virtual BWP,which may also be referred to as a virtual active BWP. A virtual BWP maybe a BWP configured with a part of the NR BWP configuration parametersdescribed above. For example, such a configuration may be provided by aserving cell (e.g., as real configuration parameters), wherein theparameters related to physical resources, such as for example, the firstPRB, may remain unconfigured or configured to a virtual value. Forexample, the virtual BWP may be configured with any of a subcarrierspacing, a cyclic prefix, and a bandwidth derived from parametersprovided by the serving cell. According to embodiments, a virtual BWPconfiguration may differ from a real BWP configuration, for example,only by having a virtual location in the spectrum. The mapping of thevirtual location to a real location (e.g., time and/or frequencylocation and/or resource) in the spectrum may be determined according toan outcome of LBT. The mapping of the virtual active BWP to a physicalBWP may be associated with what (or which) BWP has been acquired by anyof the cell or the WTRU, for example, using LBT. The WTRU may beconfigured with any of resources to attempt LBT (e.g., LBT occasion) orresources to attempt reception in a monitoring occasion on physicalBWPs. Upon determining a physical BWP is active, the WTRU may translate(e.g., apply, adapt, modify, use, etc.) all resources tied to (e.g.,associated with) its virtual active BWP to the physical BWP. The mappingmay use configurable rules and/or may be indicated in the BWPacquisition signaling. For example, the mapping from virtual resource tophysical resources may be associated with acquisition by the WTRU of aset of physical resources, e.g. by determining that the channel is freeusing LBT. The WTRU may cycle through a set of frequency locations in aspecific order, for example, such that if a frequency location is deemedbusy, the WTRU may proceed to determine whether the following frequencylocation is free or busy. Upon determining that a frequency location isfree, the WTRU may map the virtual BWP to the physical resources of thefrequency location. Any of the set of frequency locations and the orderin which they may be cycled may be any of pre-determined or configurable(e.g. semi-statically or dynamically, such as in the resource grant).According to embodiments, the WTRU may determine the mapping from areception of a BWP acquisition signal, for example, from the gNB. Such asignal may indicate the set of physical resources to which a virtual BWPmay be mapped. According to embodiments, the mapping between a virtualBWP and physical resources may depend on a parameter of the grant. Theparameter may include any of: a timing of the grant, a duration of thegrant, a frequency resource allocation of the grant, a quasi-collocationindication, a service type, LBT (if any) needed or required for thetransmission, or a redundancy version of the transmission.

Configuring a WTRU with a set of (e.g., real) BWPs corresponds toassigning a data transmission or reception to the WTRU in a fixedfrequency location. In unlicensed spectrum, such a frequency locationmay be deemed occupied during an intended time of transmission. This maylead to dropping of a transmission and increasing over-all latency.According to embodiments, in the case of configuring a WTRU with avirtual BWP, all the transmission parameters may be known prior to thetransmission, except for the frequency location. In such a case, thefrequency location may (e.g., then) be determined from a set of validlocations based on any of LBT and frequency selection rules known apriori. For example, a WTRU may cycle through the frequency locations ina pre-determined manner known at both the WTRU and the gNB. According toembodiments, configuring a WTRU with a virtual BWP may provide improvedtransmission performance and over-all latency of BWPs in NR unlicensedspectrum.

BWP Deactivation as a Function of a Received Signal

BWP deactivation as a function of a received signal is described herein.According to embodiments, a WTRU may operate with (e.g., assume that) aplurality of configured BWPs that may be active at a same point in time.In such a case, the WTRU may monitor the monitoring regions of (e.g.,all the) active BWPs, for example, to determine whether the BWP wasacquired by the cell. In such a case (e.g., similarly), the WTRU mayattempt LBT on any of the active BWPs. In a case of being informed bythe cell that a BWP has been acquired, or, for example, in a case ofhaving a successful LBT on a BWP, the WTRU may start a timer and mayconsider (e.g., all other) BWPs deactivated, for example, until thetimer expires.

Channel Occupancy Time (COT)

Channel occupancy time is described herein. A channel may be occupied bya node, or pair of nodes, for a maximum amount of time. Such a maximummay be referred to as maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT). The MCOTmay be determined to comply with a regulation.

According to embodiments, in a case of a BWP being (e.g., becoming)active for a WTRU, the WTRU may start a timer (e.g., set to any value upto and including the MOOT). In the case of an expired timer (e.g., uponexpiration of the timer), the WTRU may operate such that (e.g., assume)the BWP is not (e.g. no longer) active and may return to the monitoredstate. The WTRU may have (e.g., operate, manage, etc.) multiple timers(e.g., one per active BWP). In a first example, the WTRU may runmultiple timers concurrently (e.g., at a same point in time). In asecond example, the multiple timers may have different values. In athird example, the WTRU may run multiple timers, set to differentvalues, concurrently. A WTRU may maintain one timer per active BWP, suchthat different timers may have had different starting values and may beat different points at any given moment.

According to embodiments, the channel occupancy time (COT) timer may beset to a dynamically indicated value. For example, a WTRU may notreceive a DL transmission in the first slot that a cell acquires a BWP,and in such a case, the cell may need to relinquish (e.g., release) theBWP, for example, faster than the WTRU may expect. In such a case, thefirst transmission to a WTRU may include the value to use by the WTRUfor the COT timer. In another example, the WTRU may receive a timervalue (e.g., an update to the timer value) for the COT timer in a second(or any subsequent) transmission to the WTRU.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may reset a COT timer in a case whereany of the following occurs. In a first case, the COT timer may be resetaccording to (e.g., upon receiving) an indication to switch anotheractive BWP. For example, the first case may be possible (e.g., only) ifthe new active BWP is on orthogonal resources of the original activeBWP. In a second case, the COT timer may be reset according to (e.g.,upon receiving) an indication to reset the COT timer. For example, thecell may perform LBT (e.g., immediately) at the end of a COT and may(e.g., immediately) reacquire a BWP for a new COT. The indication may beany of explicit (e.g., included in a DCI) or implicit (e.g., tied toand/or associated with the transmission of a specific signal like an RSor SSB). In a third case, the COT timer may be reset according to (e.g.,upon successful) LBT by the WTRU. The COT timer may, for example, berestarted at the beginning of an UL transmission, for example,subsequent to the successful LBT.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may be provided resources in an activeBWP, for example, to attempt LBT on any of the same or other BWPs beforethe expiration of the COT timer. Such resources may be configured aszero power reference signal (ZP RS) (e.g., ZP CSI-RS).

According to embodiments, in a case where LBT is performed while theWTRU has an active BWP, there may be restrictions on, for example, thebeams the WTRU may use for LBT. For example, the WTRU may perform LBTusing the beam (or set of beams) that it is currently configured withfor the active BWP. In another example, the WTRU may be indicated (e.g.,by the serving cell) the beam (or set of beams) to use for LBT performedwhile a BWP is active.

Scheduling on Active BWP

Scheduling on active BWP is described herein. According to embodiments,an indication of activation of a BWP (e.g., from a cell) may (e.g.,also) include scheduling information, for example, for any of a first DLassignment or an UL grant. In a case of a BWP (or set of BWPs) beingactivated, the WTRU may monitor (e.g., begin monitoring) PDCCH searchspaces in any number of CORESETs, for example, that are in its activeBWPs.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may receive an UL grant for an ULtransmission that may be transmitted on any of a plurality of BWPs (e.g.the UL transmission may be performed on one, or more, of a set or setsof applicable BWPs). The set of applicable BWPs may be any ofsemi-statically configured or determined by the UE, for example, from anelement of the UL grant. Such an UL grant for an UL transmission thatmay be transmitted on any of a plurality of BWPs may be referred to as aBWP agnostic UL grant. The WTRU may perform the transmission without LBT(and/or with short LBT) if, once the timing of the grant is valid, aWTRU has an active BWP (e.g. with an ongoing COT) for which the UL grantis applicable. In a case where the WTRU does not have an active BWP(e.g. with an ongoing COT) for which the UL grant is applicable, theWTRU may perform LBT on any of the applicable BWPs. In a case of (e.g.,successfully) acquiring a (e.g., at least one applicable) BWP, the UEmay perform the granted UL transmission in that BWP.

Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Transmission

Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) transmission is described herein.According to embodiments, for DL HARQ, in a case where a WTRU has (e.g.,the appropriate) resources to transmit a HARQ feedback in the same COTas the DL data transmission, the WTRU may not (e.g., need to) performLBT, for example, prior to the HARQ feedback transmission and the WTRUmay proceed (e.g., to operate) in the unlicensed spectrum as in alicensed spectrum. In a case where HARQ feedback resources are notavailable (e.g., the DL data transmission occurs such that applicableHARQ feedback resources are not available) within the COT, the WTRU maykeep the HARQ ACK-NACK value, for example, for (e.g., possible, later)HARQ feedback transmission (e.g. on an active BWP). The WTRU may bepolled by the cell to transmit such un-transmitted HARQ feedback values.The polling may be done in another COT and may be on another BWP. TheHARQ feedback values may be transmitted upon a new BWP activation, forexample, leading to new resources for feedback transmission. Forexample, a WTRU may receive a DL assignment in one of the last slots ofa COT. The WTRU may attempt LBT on any of the same or another BWP (e.g.,depending on the LBT occasion pattern). In a case where the WTRUacquires (e.g., is able to acquire) any of the same or another BWP, forexample, within a specific amount of time, the WTRU may transmit HARQfeedback values on the resources associated with (e.g., tied to) the newactivated BWP.

According to embodiments, for UL HARQ, in a case where the UL datatransmission is performed at a time such that a WTRU may not receive(e.g., expect to receive) a HARQ feedback within the same COT, the WTRUmay keep the UL data in its buffer. The WTRU may continue monitoring themonitored BWPs. In a case of receiving an indication of a new activeBWP, the WTRU may flush its buffer, for example, if it is not scheduledfor retransmission of the UL data from the previous COT.

Radio Link Monitoring (RLM)

Radio link monitoring (RLM) is described herein. According toembodiments, a WTRU may perform RLM on a (e.g., possibly) configurableset of RSs, for example, on any number of (e.g., active) BWPs. Forexample, in a case of a BWP being (e.g., becoming) active, the WTRU mayperform (e.g., the relevant) measurements, for example, to determine ifthere is any radio link failure (RLF).

According to embodiments, a WTRU may not be indicated any active BWP,for example, by not receiving any control signaling indicating an activeBWP, for a (e.g., certain) duration. According to this specificembodiment, in a case of any (e.g. all) BWP(s) being (e.g., remaining)inactive for a (e.g., specific) period of time (e.g., exceeding aconfigurable amount of time), the WTRU may declare RLF. The WTRU may beconfigured to measure a subset of RSs (e.g., in a case where such RS maybe expected even in BWPs without valid activation indication), forexample, to perform RLM measurements on that (e.g., possibly inactive)BWP. There may be a case where the WTRU may not detect any transmissionfor such RSs, for example in a case where the network (e.g., the gNB)has not (e.g., successfully) acquired the channel for the concernedBWPs, for example, to transmit a signal for the concerned RSs. The WTRUmay start a timer in a case of receiving a last RS used for RLMmeasurements. The WTRU may restart the timer in any of a case where(e.g., whenever) it determines that a BWP has been activated, or in acase where (e.g., whenever) it receives an RS on an inactive BWP. Uponexpiration of the timer, the WTRU may declare (e.g., report) a RLF.

According to embodiments, a WTRU may perform link monitoring (LM), forexample, per BWP (e.g., BWP-LM). The WTRU may maintain any ofmeasurements and timers per any of BWP or set of BWPs. A BWP linkfailure (BWP-LF) event may be determined in a case where a measurementtaken on a resource transmitted on the BWP (or set of BWPs) exceeds avalue (e.g., falls below a first threshold). The WTRU may indicate(e.g., report, transmit information indicating, etc.) to the network anynumber of (e.g., every) BWP-LF event. The WTRU may indicate (e.g.,report, transmit information indicating, etc.), for example, to thenetwork, a BWP-LF upon any number of such BWP-LF events taking place,for example, within a time window. For example, a WTRU may trigger atimer upon determining a first BWP-LF event. If the number of BWP-LFevents exceeds a value (e.g., exceeds a second threshold), for example,before expiration of the timer, the WTRU may declare (e.g., report,transmit information indicating, etc.) BWP-LF for the BWP.

According to embodiments, in a case of BWP-LF occurring on any number ofBWPs (or set of BWPs), the WTRU may modify any of the monitoring period,monitoring period offset, LBT occasion period, or LBT occasion periodoffset, for example, of another BWP (e.g., a default BWP), for exampleto increase the frequency of any of the monitoring or listeningoccasions.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a method for use in a WTRU configuredwith a set of BWSBs in unlicensed spectrum according to an embodiment.As illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 3A, the method may include astep 30 of configuring the WTRU with a plurality of BWSBs, for example,for accessing a serving cell within an unlicensed frequency spectrum.The WTRU may be configured with the plurality of BWSBs by, for example,receiving configuration parameters from the serving cell. The WTRU mayapply the configuration parameters as previously described. The methodmay include a step 34 of monitoring the plurality of BWSBs, for example,using any of a monitoring period or one offset per BWSB. The monitoringperiod and the monitoring offsets may be part of a configurable scheduleof the WTRU. The monitoring period may be configured, for example, toadjust the periodicity of monitoring a (e.g., any, each, all, etc.) BWSB(e.g., the frequency at which each BWSB may be monitored). The differentoffsets of the different BWSBs may be configured to different values,for example, to allow a sequential monitoring of the plurality of BWSBsby the WTRU.

The method may include a step 36 of determining a BWSB is active (e.g.,activating a BWSB), for example, based on the monitoring. The WTRU may(e.g., try to) acquire the channel of the BWSB, for example, byperforming LBT at a time determined according to any of the monitoringperiod and the monitoring offset of that BWSB during a monitoringduration (which may be referred to as a LBT occasion). In a case of(e.g., successful) UL channel acquisition by the WTRU, the monitoredBWSB may be (e.g., determined to be) active (e.g., activated). The WTRUmay (e.g., try to) receive a signal from the serving cell in the BWSB ata time determined according to any of the monitoring period and themonitoring offset of that BWSB, for example, during a monitoringduration (which may be referred to as a monitoring occasion). In a caseof (e.g., successful) reception of a signal from the serving cell duringthe monitoring occasion, the monitored BWSB may be (e.g., determined bythe WTRU to be) active (e.g., activated by the WTRU).

FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a method for use in a WTRU configuredwith a set of BWSBs in unlicensed spectrum according to an embodiment.As illustrated in the flow chart of FIG. 3B, the method may include astep 30 (which may be similar to the step 30 of FIG. 3A) of configuringthe WTRU with a plurality of BWSBs, for example, for accessing a servingcell within an unlicensed frequency spectrum. The method may include astep 32 of receiving a BWSB agnostic grant for an UL transmission (e.g.,the grant is not associated with and/or tied to a BWSB). In a case wherethe WTRU has an active BWSB, the WTRU may perform the UL transmissionassociated with the BWSB agnostic grant in that active BWSB. In a casewhere the WTRU does not have an (e.g., any active) BWSB (e.g. all theconfigured BWSB are inactive), the WTRU may monitor the plurality ofBWSBs in a step 34, for example, according to any of the monitoringperiod and the monitoring offsets (e.g., as previously described). Forexample, the WTRU may any of repeatedly and sequentially monitor theplurality of the BWSBs according to the configurable schedule aspreviously described. The method may include a step 36 of activating aBWSB according to the monitoring. For any (e.g., each, all) BWSB, theWTRU may (e.g., try to, attempt to, etc.) decode a DL signal, forexample, from the serving cell, at the monitoring occasion correspondingto the monitored BWSB. In a case of not receiving (e.g., a failure toreceive) a signal during the monitoring occasion, the WTRU may attemptto acquire the channel of the BWSB, for example, by performing LBT atthe LBT occasion corresponding to the monitored BWSB. In a case of(e.g., success for) any of DL signal reception or LBT (e.g., the channelbeing acquirable), the BWSB may be activated. For any (e.g., each, all)BWSB, the WTRU may (e.g., directly, attempt to, etc.) acquire thechannel of the BWSB (e.g., without any of having, needing, or initiallytrying to receive a DL signal in the BWSB) at the LBT occasioncorresponding to the monitored BWSB.

The method may include a step 38 of applying the BWSB agnostic grant inthe active BWSB, for example, by performing (e.g. transmitting) the ULtransmission associated with the grant in that active BWSB.

CONCLUSION

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronicsignals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) andcomputer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storagemedia include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductormemory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removabledisks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks,and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association withsoftware may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for usein a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

While not explicitly described, the present embodiments may be employedin any combination or sub-combination. For example, the presentprinciples are not limited to the described variants, and anyarrangement of variants and embodiments can be used. Moreover, thepresent principles are not limited to the described channel accessmethods and any other type of channel access methods is compatible withthe present principles.

Besides, any characteristic, variant or embodiment described for amethod is compatible with an apparatus device comprising means forprocessing the disclosed method, with a device comprising a processorconfigured to process the disclosed method, with a computer programproduct comprising program code instructions and with a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing program instructions.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediainclude, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), random accessmemory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices,magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks,magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, anddigital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with softwaremay be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU102, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Moreover, in the embodiments described above, processing platforms,computing systems, controllers, and other devices containing processorsare noted. These devices may contain at least one Central ProcessingUnit (“CPU”) and memory. In accordance with the practices of personsskilled in the art of computer programming, reference to acts andsymbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performedby the various CPUs and memories. Such acts and operations orinstructions may be referred to as being “executed,” “computer executed”or “CPU executed.”

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the acts andsymbolically represented operations or instructions include themanipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. An electrical systemrepresents data bits that can cause a resulting transformation orreduction of the electrical signals and the maintenance of data bits atmemory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure or otherwisealter the CPU's operation, as well as other processing of signals. Thememory locations where data bits are maintained are physical locationsthat have particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organicproperties corresponding to or representative of the data bits. Itshould be understood that the representative embodiments are not limitedto the above-mentioned platforms or CPUs and that other platforms andCPUs may support the provided methods.

The data bits may also be maintained on a computer readable mediumincluding magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g.,Random Access Memory (“RAM”)) or non-volatile (e.g., Read-Only Memory(“ROM”)) mass storage system readable by the CPU. The computer readablemedium may include cooperating or interconnected computer readablemedium, which exist exclusively on the processing system or aredistributed among multiple interconnected processing systems that may belocal or remote to the processing system. It is understood that therepresentative embodiments are not limited to the above-mentionedmemories and that other platforms and memories may support the describedmethods.

In an illustrative embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc.described herein may be implemented as computer-readable instructionsstored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable instructionsmay be executed by a processor of a mobile unit, a network element,and/or any other computing device.

There is little distinction left between hardware and softwareimplementations of aspects of systems. The use of hardware or softwareis generally (e.g., but not always, in that in certain contexts thechoice between hardware and software may become significant) a designchoice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. There may be variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein may be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and the preferred vehicle may vary with the context in whichthe processes and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. Forexample, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy areparamount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmwarevehicle. If flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for amainly software implementation. Alternatively, the implementer may optfor some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. Suitable processorsinclude, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a specialpurpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors inassociation with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller,Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application SpecificStandard Products (ASSPs); Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs)circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), and/or a statemachine.

Although features and elements are provided above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. The present disclosure is not to be limitedin terms of the particular embodiments described in this application,which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Manymodifications and variations may be made without departing from itsspirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Noelement, act, or instruction used in the description of the presentapplication should be construed as critical or essential to theinvention unless explicitly provided as such. Functionally equivalentmethods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in additionto those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations areintended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The presentdisclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims,along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims areentitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited toparticular methods or systems.

It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for thepurpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended tobe limiting. As used herein, when referred to herein, the terms“station” and its abbreviation “STA”, “user equipment” and itsabbreviation “UE” may mean (i) a wireless transmit and/or receive unit(WTRU), such as described infra; (ii) any of a number of embodiments ofa WTRU, such as described infra; (iii) a wireless-capable and/orwired-capable (e.g., tetherable) device configured with, inter alia,some or all structures and functionality of a WTRU, such as describedinfra; (iii) a wireless-capable and/or wired-capable device configuredwith less than all structures and functionality of a WTRU, such asdescribed infra; or (iv) the like. Details of an example WTRU, which maybe representative of any UE recited herein, are provided below withrespect to FIGS. 1A-1D.

In certain representative embodiments, several portions of the subjectmatter described herein may be implemented via Application SpecificIntegrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs),digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other integrated formats.However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects ofthe embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, may beequivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computerprograms running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programsrunning on one or more computer systems), as one or more programsrunning on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs runningon one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually anycombination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing thecode for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill ofone of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subjectmatter described herein may be distributed as a program product in avariety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subjectmatter described herein applies regardless of the particular type ofsignal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution.Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, thefollowing: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard diskdrive, a CD, a DVD, a digital tape, a computer memory, etc., and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely examples, and that in fact many other architectures may beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality may beachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality may be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermediate components. Likewise, any two componentsso associated may also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated may also be viewedas being “operably couplable” to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, where only oneitem is intended, the term “single” or similar language may be used. Asan aid to understanding, the following appended claims and/or thedescriptions herein may contain usage of the introductory phrases “atleast one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However,the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that theintroduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or“an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claimrecitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even whenthe same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “atleast one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or“an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”). Thesame holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claimrecitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introducedclaim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art willrecognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at leastthe recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,”without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations).

Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C”would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone,C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general sucha construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” Further, the terms“any of” followed by a listing of a plurality of items and/or aplurality of categories of items, as used herein, are intended toinclude “any of,” “any combination of,” “any multiple of,” and/or “anycombination of multiples of” the items and/or the categories of items,individually or in conjunction with other items and/or other categoriesof items. Moreover, as used herein, the term “set” or “group” isintended to include any number of items, including zero. Additionally,as used herein, the term “number” is intended to include any number,including zero.

In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are describedin terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individualmember or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and allpurposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, allranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subrangesand combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easilyrecognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range beingbroken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths,tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein maybe readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third,etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all languagesuch as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the likeincludes the number recited and refers to ranges which can besubsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, aswill be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes eachindividual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers togroups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cellsrefers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

Moreover, the claims should not be read as limited to the provided orderor elements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the terms“means for” in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶6 ormeans-plus-function claim format, and any claim without the terms “meansfor” is not so intended.

A processor in association with software may be used to implement aradio frequency transceiver for use in a wireless transmit receive unit(WTRU), user equipment (UE), terminal, base station, Mobility ManagementEntity (MME) or Evolved Packet Core (EPC), or any host computer. TheWTRU may be used m conjunction with modules, implemented in hardwareand/or software including a Software Defined Radio (SDR), and othercomponents such as a camera, a video camera module, a videophone, aspeakerphone, a vibration device, a speaker, a microphone, a televisiontransceiver, a hands free headset, a keyboard, a Bluetooth® module, afrequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a Near Field Communication (NFC)Module, a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit, an organiclight-emitting diode (OLED) display unit, a digital music player, amedia player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and/orany Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or Ultra Wide Band (UWB) module.

Although the invention has been described in terms of communicationsystems, it is contemplated that the systems may be implemented insoftware on microprocessors/general purpose computers (not shown). Incertain embodiments, one or more of the functions of the variouscomponents may be implemented in software that controls ageneral-purpose computer.

In addition, although the invention is illustrated and described hereinwith reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended tobe limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may bemade in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of theclaims and without departing from the invention.

Throughout the disclosure, one of skill understands that certainrepresentative embodiments may be used in the alternative or incombination with other representative embodiments.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that eachfeature or element can be used alone or in any combination with theother features and elements. In addition, the methods described hereinmay be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediainclude, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), random accessmemory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices,magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks,magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, anddigital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with softwaremay be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in aWTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Moreover, in the embodiments described above, processing platforms,computing systems, controllers, and other devices containing processorsare noted. These devices may contain at least one Central ProcessingUnit (“CPU”) and memory. In accordance with the practices of personsskilled in the art of computer programming, reference to acts andsymbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performedby the various CPUs and memories. Such acts and operations orinstructions may be referred to as being “executed,” “computer executed”or “CPU executed.”

One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the acts andsymbolically represented operations or instructions include themanipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. An electrical systemrepresents data bits that can cause a resulting transformation orreduction of the electrical signals and the maintenance of data bits atmemory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure or otherwisealter the CPU's operation, as well as other processing of signals. Thememory locations where data bits are maintained are physical locationsthat have particular electrical, magnetic, optical, or organicproperties corresponding to or representative of the data bits.

The data bits may also be maintained on a computer readable mediumincluding magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g.,Random Access Memory (“RAM”)) or non-volatile (“e.g., Read-Only Memory(“ROM”)) mass storage system readable by the CPU. The computer readablemedium may include cooperating or interconnected computer readablemedium, which exist exclusively on the processing system or aredistributed among multiple interconnected processing systems that may belocal or remote to the processing system. It is understood that therepresentative embodiments are not limited to the above-mentionedmemories and that other platforms and memories may support the describedmethods.

Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purposeprocessor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, amicrocontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),Application Specific Standard Products (ASSPs); Field Programmable GateArrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC),and/or a state machine.

Although the invention has been described in terms of communicationsystems, it is contemplated that the systems may be implemented insoftware on microprocessors/general purpose computers (not shown). Incertain embodiments, one or more of the functions of the variouscomponents may be implemented in software that controls ageneral-purpose computer.

In addition, although the invention is illustrated and described hereinwith reference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended tobe limited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may bemade in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of theclaims and without departing from the invention.

1. A wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), comprising a processor and atransceiver operatively coupled to the processor, the processor beingconfigured to: receive configuration information indicating a virtualbandwidth sub band (BWSB), wherein parameters of the virtual BWSB areassociated with virtual resources; receive grant information indicatingscheduling a transmission in the virtual BWSB; determine that a channelis available in a BWSB of a plurality of BWSBs; translate the virtualresources associated with the virtual BWSB to physical resources of theBWSB; and transmit the transmission in the BWSB based on the grantinformation.
 2. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the BWSB is in unlicensedfrequency spectrum.
 3. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the parameters ofthe virtual BWSB comprise any of a subcarrier spacing, a cycle prefixand a bandwidth.
 4. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to receive BWSB activation information indicating thephysical resources to which the virtual resources are to be translated.5. The WTRU of claim 1, wherein the virtual resources are translated tothe physical resources based on a configurable rule.
 6. The WTRU ofclaim 1, wherein the virtual resources are translated to the physicalresources based on a parameter of the grant information, wherein theparameter comprises any of a grant timing, a grant duration, a frequencyresource allocation, a quasi-collocation indication, a service type, anindication of whether listen before talk (LBT) is to be performed forthe transmission, and a redundancy version of the transmission.
 7. TheWTRU of claim 1, wherein the virtual resources are translated to thephysical resources by performing LBT in the channel of the BWSB and byacquiring the physical resources in the channel.
 8. The WTRU of claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to monitor the plurality ofBWSBs according to periodic monitoring occasions, and wherein each ofthe plurality of BWSBs is monitored repeatedly until the channel isdetermined to be available in the BWSB.
 9. The WTRU of claim 8, whereinthe periodic monitoring occasions comprise a set of periodic monitoringoccasions associated with a time offset per BWSB, wherein each BWSB isassociated with a different time offset.
 10. The WTRU of claim 8,wherein the configuration information indicates the periodic monitoringoccasions to be used for monitoring the plurality of BWSBs.
 11. The WTRUof claim 1, wherein the grant information indicates resources notspecific to any BWSB of the plurality of BWSBs.
 12. A method implementedin a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising:receiving configuration information indicating a virtual bandwidth subband (BWSB), wherein parameters of the virtual BWSB are associated withvirtual resources; receiving grant information indicating scheduling atransmission in the virtual BWSB; determining that a channel isavailable in a BWSB of a plurality of BWSBs; translating the virtualresources associated with the virtual BWSB to physical resources of theBWSB; and transmitting the transmission in the BWSB based on the grantinformation.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the virtual resourcesare translated to the physical resources based on a parameter of thegrant information, and wherein the parameter comprises any of a granttiming, a grant duration, a frequency resource allocation, aquasi-collocation indication, a service type, an indication of whetherlisten before talk (LBT) is to be performed for the transmission, and aredundancy version of the transmission.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein the virtual resources are translated to the physical resourcesby performing LBT in the channel of the BWSB and by acquiring thephysical resources in the channel.
 15. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising monitoring the plurality of BWSBs according to periodicmonitoring occasions, wherein each of the plurality of BWSBs ismonitored repeatedly until the channel is determined to be available inthe BWSB.
 16. A wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU), comprising aprocessor and a transceiver operatively coupled to the processor, theprocessor being configured to: receive first configuration informationindicating a virtual bandwidth sub band (BWSB), wherein parameters ofthe virtual BWSB are associated with virtual resources; receive secondconfiguration information indicating a set of monitoring occasions to beused for monitoring a plurality of BWSBs; receive at least one signalfrom a network element in a monitoring occasion of a BWSB of theplurality of BWSBs; translate the virtual resources associated with thevirtual BWSB to physical resources of the BWSB; and receive, from thenetwork element, a transmission in the physical resources of the BWSB.17. The WTRU of claim 16, wherein the parameters of the virtual BWSBcomprise any of a subcarrier spacing, a cycle prefix and a bandwidth.18. The WTRU of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured toreceive BWSB activation information indicating the physical resources towhich the virtual resources are to be translated.
 19. The WTRU of claim16, wherein each of the plurality of BWSBs is monitored repeatedly untilthe at least one signal is received in the BWSB.
 20. The WTRU of claim16, wherein the set of monitoring occasions comprise a set of periodicmonitoring occasions associated with a time offset per BWSB, whereineach BWSB is associated with a different time offset.